Hell's Kitchen Studio Makeover: Part 2 – Damp Bathroom

Guest Post from Danny Seo

After: The humid bathroom with eucalyptus and Quick-dri towels.

When you find a very reasonably priced studio apartment in Manhattan, two things come to mind: it's either rent-controlled and you've struck gold or there's something wrong with it. While this small studio had nothing glaringly wrong with it, the tiny bathroom did suffer from a lack of ventilation to let the morning steamy shower vent anywhere. Since this was not a gut renovation job, I had to think of Plan B in dealing with this ventilation issue.

As JCPenney's Green Living Partner, I work with them on our designation program called "Simply Green" that helps our customers find eco-friendly products for sale in stores and online at jcp.com. At our new NYC store inside the Manhattan Mall, you'll find one Simply Green item that I absolutely love and is perfect for this ventless situation: Our Linden Street Quick-Dri towels and bath rugs.

The Quick-Dri products feature a special weave that helps them drive about 33% faster. In a more humid bathroom, that means the towels and mats can air-dry faster, making them less prone to mold and mildew. Stacks of Quick-Dri towels are a quick decorating fix.

The old-fashioned, water-wasting showerhead was replaced with this Kohler Forte showerhead, which is incredibly water-efficient and uses just 1.75 gallons per minute. Behind it, I hung a sprig of eucalyptus to help bring that natural aromatherapy into the shower. Finally, instead of two shower curtains (including a PVC liner that off-gassed in the small space), this PVC-free, nylon shower curtain works without a liner, just like the ones in hotel rooms. It's also machine washable, which makes it very easy to keep clean.

With the 30 minutes up, I now had 1 hour to makeover the biggest challenge yet — the bedroom.